"Well if it isn't the little hero and her companion. What happened to your eye, young miss?" The family butler sneered, emphasizing her title, before quivering at the sight of Aiko's blood-soaked attire.

  'Huh, never thought the family butler would have hemophobia considering the assholes weren't particurly stealthy with their abuse.' Aiko thought. Aiko never would've guessed that the butler was one of the few servants who never witnessed her getting beaten. 'I was always bleeding from at least 5 different pces after each session, so how is he still here if he has hemophobia... A thought to dwell on ter I suppose.'

  #Give it a rest, butler.# Aiko replied, with an apathetic expression as she walked towards the stairs and headed straight towards her room.

  "So, where am I gonna stay?"

  #You don't mind sleeping on the floor in my room, right? Since we're from Asia, we should have some futons or something simir if you don't mind.#

  "I don't mind. I'm the one intruding after all."

  #Great. Let me just find one.# Aiko responded as she dropped Sydney off at her room before she left for the attic.

  *CREAK*

  'God damn is the attic dusty.' Aiko thought as she looked around. The attic was covered in dust and cobwebs, with no light except the single ntern above the dder. The attic was filled with numerous items, but not what Aiko was looking for. 'Garage then?'

  As Aiko climbed down the dder from the attic, the musty scent of old wood clung to her clothes. Her mind drifted back to the memory of her grandfather - a man of rigid principles and unyielding beliefs. The memory had resurfaced earlier, unbidden and unwanted, like a ghost from her past. She shook her head, unwilling to dwell on it further as she made her way to the garage.

  Yesterday, after Kick Out blew up...

  "And to think I thought the firefight days were behind me. Thank god I decided to spend extra and make the counter bulletproof." Sydney muttered.

  "MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY! MEDICS COMING THROUGH!" A symphony of shouts rang throughout the alleyways as a squad of medics navigated the byrinth, guided by the drone flying above.

  'Finally. Medics have arrived. Hopefully Aiko's fine.' Sydney thought with tears.

  "Hello there Sydney." A police officer with a brown handlebar moustache and wearing sungsses despite it being night walked up to Sydney. His police badge seemed to signify that his position was above the regur cops who ran throughout the ruined building in front of the pair, looking for any survivors that may have been missed.

  "Hey there Chief." Sydney returned his greeting.

  "I bet you thought your firefight days were behind you since you quit the force."

  "Indeed I did. But did those fuckers have to blow my apartment and workpce up?"

  "Well, I can't answer you, and neither can the culprits anymore."

  "Well, chief. You doing okay?"

  "It's been rough. These sorts of ransoms and bombings have been a pretty regur occurrence ever since the unification, but it's become increasingly regur in the past few years. Seriously, how did you put up with being chief for 10 years?"

  "It was a rough experience..." Sydney said as she recalled the sleepless nights she had due to the stress of trying to protect everyone from the irregur bombings. "Well, enough about the past, are these guys separists?"

  "Indeed they are. Good job taking out so many of them without reinforcements or gear though."

  "I didn't do that. At most, 2 of them were my kills." Sydney said as she looked back to her firing her rifle in a fit of rage and grief. She started clenching her fists as she looked back. In hindsight, there were no negotiators, nor was there any negotiation going on. "The rest of the ones that have bullet holes in them were the work of a 17-year-old girl. Honestly, what has come to our officers? And where were the fucking negotiators?"

  'Oh boy... She's getting angry.' The Chief thought as sweat dropped from his head. "My apologies, b-but I hadn't sent any. I thought you would be able to take care of it. You have a track record of solving firefights alone anyway."

  "I was outnumbered 10 to 1. Besides, I only solved 2 firefights, so how is that a track record?" Sydney said, putting harsh emphasis on the facts. She clenched her fists and gnashed her teeth. Losing her cool, her tone became harsher and her volume increased as she spoke, "Your little decision caused a fatality and a casualty that may very well evolve into becoming two fatalities. Along with that, an extremely delicate hostage situation could have ended up becoming a suicide bombing that caused the death of everyone inside the building. Sending negotiators is STEP NUMBER ONE IN HOSTAGE SITUATIONS! SO FUCKING SEND THEM!"

  "I-I-I'm sorry! Okay? The stress is making me irrational! You've been through it! So stop bming ME FOR EVERYTHING! WE'RE ALREADY STRETCHED FAR AND THIN! DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE ONLY HOSTAGE SITUATION?" The Chief snapped and shouted back at the ex-chief. "Every year I ask the country to move some manpower from another city, and every single fucking time I get rejected. How many successful negotiations have happened in Westfield this year? Three. THREE FUCKING SUCCESSES. AND HOW MANY HOSTAGE SITUATIONS HAVE HAPPENED? TEN! AND IT'S ONLY MARCH!"

  "THEN MAKE IT FUCKING WORK! ITS YOUR JOB! SO FUCKING FIX IT! HAVE THE POLICE STOOPED SO LOW THAT A 17-YEAR-OLD HAS TO DO THEIR FUCKING JOB!" Sydney shouted in anger. Seeing the Chief becoming irrational from fury, and lifting his fists as if he was about to fight her, Sydney shouted again as she lifted her hands into a combat-ready position, "YOU WANNA THROW HANDS? TRY ME BITCH!"

  "I-I-I'm sorry for i-interjecting here. B-b-but you may have to hope for the worst with your friend, Miss Walker." A stuttering medic informed Sydney, clearly shaken from the heated exchange between the current and former police chief.

  'Good thing the worst didn't happen.' Sydney thought, letting out a relieved sigh as Aiko came back, dragging along the fruits of her search.

  #So I couldn't find a futon, but I did find a blow-up mattress, pillow and duvet.#

  "I don't mind sleeping on those." Sydney said before adding, 'I doubt sleeping on the floor in a futon would be better than sleeping on a blow-up mattress.'

  #Futons include mattresses, so there isn't any difference.# Aiko wrote as she guessed what Sydney was thinking about.

  "Is that so," Sydney said in a contempting tone as she set up her mattress.

  #Do you mind if you drive me to the driving test centre?#

  "I don't mind but I don't exactly remember where it is." Sydney tried to recall the time she st went there, which was 20 years ago.

  #It's near No Misfire. So just park near there.#

  "Sure."

  'Would it be fine if I pyed Kill Zone whilst I sleep?' Aiko thought. #Hey, do you think my body would still rest if I pyed Kill Zone whilst I slept?#

  "I don't know... Maybe the FAQs on the website have an answer, you could also ask customer service."

  Recalling the 10-hour purgatory she and Mumei endured waiting for the Customer Service and Accessibility teams to reply, she swiftly wrote #NEVER AGAIN.#

  'Not only was I set back by an entire 10 hours, but the Accessibility team even had the nerve to act all high and mighty...'

  "What happened between you and Fauxtech?" Sydney asked with curiosity.

  Sydney's ughter echoed throughout the room as Aiko recounted her experience with Fauxtech's customer service. Aiko smiled faintly, but underneath, her thoughts churned. Her pns once meticulously crafted, suddenly seemed fragile. The loss of her eye had been a brutal reminder that control was an illusion - a terrifying realisation for someone whose life is dependent on their contingency pns.

  "So you waited 10 hours... For a notepad and pen." Sydney crified, ughing as she finished pronouncing each word as Aiko prepared to leave to shower next door.

  #Yeah, yeah.# Aiko wrote as she searched Fauxtech's website on her phone. #It says here that it'd be fine.#

  "There's your answer then. So what's your in-game name?" Sydney asked.

  #Ataraxia. Do you even have an IVR-compatible headset?#

  "Yes. One of the few things that weren't destroyed in the bombing somehow." Sydney said as she pondered how her safe didn't survive, but the headset did. Eventually, she gave up and chalked it up to an act of God.

  #I'm a Contractor on X0-7. Be sure to listen to any advice your assistant tells you. Good night.# Aiko gathered a nightgown and towel before promptly leaving to bathe.